As well, the company has acquired and began retrofitting the former Commodore Homes Corporation building on Highway 220 in Candor, N.C.

"Our Vice President of Mechanical Dale Parks has been building the locomotive, freight railcar, and passenger car repair part of our business for over five years. " ssays ACWR President and CEO Rob Menzies. "We have exceeded capacity at our facility in Star, and we are already attracting interest from companies wanting to know when we will be ready to start to working on their locomotives."

The company plans to create 25 new jobs and invest $3.3 million over the next five years in the facility. Currently, ACWR employs 34 employees in Montgomery County, N.C.

ACWR has already begun the first phase of retrofitting the 91,000-square-foot warehouse facility to turn it into a locomotive repair shop facility that will include 4,600 feet of new track and a modern locomotive pit. The building will primarily be occupied by the newly established subsidiary, but will also house ACWR corporate headquarters when the second phase of retrofitting is complete.

This project was made possible in part by state Department of Transportation. For the short line, the funding will be applied toward the necessary 4,600 feet of new track infrastructure.

ACWR operates in south-central North Carolina from Aberdeen westward to Charlotte and eastward to Gulf, serving businesses in six counties. Incorporated in 1987, ACWR purchased the former Norfolk Southern branch from Aberdeen to Star. ACWR interfaces with both NS and CSX Corp.